Explanatory Notes: Hebrews 13:17-25

13:17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit, for it is they who are guarding your souls as ones who will give an account, so that they might do this with joy and not with difficulty. For this is pointless for you.
It is of course possible that the author is simply making a general admonition to submit to those in authority. But the exhortation goes on just long enough to make us suspect he may know of some issue here between the audience and its leaders.

It is not clear whether Hebrews addresses one local assembly or a collection of them. Here and in 13:24, the leaders are discussed in a way that distinguishes them from the audience of the sermon proper. They are discussed in the third person.

The purpose of church leaders appears here as the guarding and protecting of the "souls" of the audience. As natural this reference to "souls" may seem to us, it is noteworthy in the context of the New Testament.

It is clear that "soul" here does not mean "life," as in Matthew 10:39. The leaders are not trying to save the audience's lives. "Soul" in Hebrew referred to an entire living creature, whether human or otherwise. It is theoretically possible that the author sees Christian leaders as guardians of whole persons, body and spirit.

But it is perhaps most likely, given the general dualism of Hebrews, that the author is speaking of leaders as protectors of the eternal spirits or "souls" of the members of the audience. This is the way the word soul is used in Matthew 10:28.

As pointless as it is to resist those who are trying to help you, it seems an unfortunate aspect of human nature. The author of Hebrews assumes that the leaders of the audience have the knowledge and wisdom necessary to give appropriate guidance and direction. Presumably, they agree with his theology.

We thus probably can probably connect this verse to earlier verses like 5:11-14, where the author chastises the audience for their failure to mature and move toward a deeper understanding of Christ's atoning significance. Their leaders, quite possibly, had been urging them toward such understandings themselves. The author of Hebrews writes to reinforce these understandings with strong biblical support.

13:18 Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, and are wishing to conduct ourselves well in all matters.
It is also a persistant feature of human nature to attack the character of those who you disagree with or those who critique your behavior. The author here defends the personal character of himself and his associates. This is perhaps the most "Paul sounding" verse in Hebrews. However, there is no basis for the theory that the author was pretending to be Paul.

13:19 And I encourage you to do this all the more so that I might be restored to you more quickly.
This verse, along with the previous one, gives us the impression that the author himself might be facing some political difficulty, as we see Timothy was in 13:23. The author asks the audience to pray for him and people like Timothy, so that they will be able to surmount opposition to them and come to the location of the audience. We get the distinct impression that the author himself has ministered in the past at the location of the audience.

13:20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up the great shepherd of the sheep from the dead with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
Thus begins the benediction of the letter/sermon. God remains the primary figure, as in early Christian theology in general. He is the "God of peace," who fosters brotherly love, submission to leaders, and harmony in general.

The great shepherd of the sheep is the Lord Jesus. Although Hebrews does not explicitly connect the guarding of church leaders to shepherding, the role seems analogous. The mention of him as Lord Jesus implies the early Christian confession of Jesus as Lord.

The image of God "bringing up" Jesus is interesting for more than one reason. For one, it is worded in a way that connotes movement through space more than resurrection of dead corpses. It may simply be another metaphor for the same event, or it may fit with a more spiritual sense of the afterlife on the author's part in contrast to Paul's stronger sense of bodily continuity.

A second point of interest is that God brings him up with the blood of the eternal covenant. In the central argument of Hebrews, Jesus as high priest passes through the heavens. Here we have a more traditional image of God raising Jesus from the dead with an allusion to the priestly function explored so extensively in the earlier part of the sermon.

13:21 ... equip you with every good deed to do His will, doing in you what is pleasing before Him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The word "equip" here is the same used in 11:3 of the creation--"were formed." There seems to be the sense of God working "you," plural, into what He wants it to be. And what God wants the church to be is a body of people who do good things in the world, following God's will.

God equips the audience to do His will through Jesus Christ. Although it is possible that the glory here goes to Jesus Christ, it is more likely that the author understands the glory to go to God.

13:22 Now I exhort you, brothers, to endure this word of exhortation, for I have written you even briefly.
Acts 13:15 refers to a sermon Paul gives as a "word of exhortation." Accordingly, most have concluded that Hebrews was meant to be read as a sermon. The fact that it has no opening prescript like a letter supports this conclusion.

13:23 Know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I will see you if he should come quickly.
Although there were no doubt many other Timothys in the ancient world, it is easy to conclude that the Timothy in view here is the same Pauline co-worker. It is thus easy to see the author of Hebrews as someone who had been associated with Paul during Paul's ministry in some way, although we cannot be absolutely certain.

1 and 2 Timothy clearly associate Timothy with Ephesus in the twilight of Paul's ministry, but we cannot be certain that it was there that Timothy was imprisoned. And since Timothy must come to the location of the author, it would seem that he is in yet a different location still.

13:24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
It is quite interesting that the sermon of Hebrews does not actually address the leaders of this assembly at all. The audience of the sermon is told to greet its own leaders and other saints who are presumably at the same general location. This makes us wonder if Hebrews was sent either to a specific assembly in a location with multiple assemblies. Or, perhaps more likely, the sermon is sent to a collection of assemblies with certain leaders in common.

The mention of "those from Italy" is taken by a significant number to indicate that Hebrews was sent to Rome. The word for "from" more often signifies being "away from." Those who greet the audience would thus be individuals originally from Italy sending their greetings back to Italy, the destination of the sermon/letter.

Further support for this hypothesis is the fact that we know of specific instances of persecution at Rome that would fit the allusions scattered throughou the sermon. We obviously do not know who these individuals "from Italy" were, although some have suggested Priscilla and Aquila as possible candidates. The fact that the author may be somewhere near Ephesus would add some small evidence to this suggestion.

13:25 Grace be with you all.
The letter ends with part of one of Paul's standard greetings. The author wishes God's favor on all who will hear the sermon.